Slice of Life Reborn
by The Silver Arrow
Summary: Reboot of the popular Slice of Life. Follow a tomboyish main character, her socially-awkward twin brother, a mischief-making alcoholic, and a spirited but overeager matchmaker as they make a fresh start on the island of Castanet. Rated T for swearing, suggestive themes, all that good stuff.
1. Prelude

**Is this what I think it is? Why yes! It it what you think it is! A newly revived, re-edited, all together much better, version of Slice of Life! Hoorah! It's almost been...hell if I know since I last updated the story, because I had kinda dug myself into a hole that pretty much made me lose interest in it all together.**

**BUT after some inspiration I have decided to bring it back from the dead! And I promise that I will try my best to keep this story going to the very end. My brother is still my co writer so on occasion he will provide a chapter of his own like he use to do.  
Both of us will try to fix any mistakes I have made. I found a good spell check website I run every chapter through before uploading so forgive me if there are any mistakes.**

**Without further or do, Enjoy the new story! **

**I do not own Harvest Moon Animal Parade.**

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I didn't know it was even possible. The kind of luck and difficulty that we've had to get this far was so mind-blowing it almost seemed unreal. Yet somehow we stood together, side by side, into what we hoped would be the next chapter of our lives. Standing before us was the very essence of freedom and pride. This was going to be awesome. THIS would be-

"The most jacked up house I've ever seen."

Snapping out from probably the most detailed inner monologue of my life, I was forced to face the reality that was the world. Which currently consisted of a broken-down and abandoned shack we were supposed to call home. The roof was falling apart so badly, if it rained before we got the opportunity to repair it, our 'humble abode' would be flooded. Several planks on the front were either rotting, falling off, or missing completely. The red paint on the door was chipped and all together not pleasant to look at. The tiny porch to the right of the house was cluttered with random supplies such as water cans, wheelbarrows, buckets, and other farming tools we'd probably never have a use for.

To say the least, it looked horrible.

I turned on my back heel, considering begging the Mayor to give us a better house. Sadly, I knew that we'd have to pay full price for a better one. He had been gracious enough to let us pay a quarter of what the house used to be worth. Now I understood why. I looked to my brother, my twin, and partner in crime. "What the blue hell are we going to do with this?" I gestured wildly to the pile of crap.

He removed the silver glasses from his face to rub his exhausted features. "We don't even have enough money to pay the mortgage at the moment, and you don't want to so much as talk about going back to Mom and Dad's. Our only option is to live with it and pay later. Besides, I'm sure it looks a lot more bearable on the inside."

"God, I hope you're right." I grumbled irritably, stomping to the ugly door and turning the rusty knob. Once the squeaky hinges finally stopped the song of their people, the two of us headed into the belly of the beast. The inside was actually slightly better, but that's not saying much. From what I could tell, the missing roof tiles were only recently removed. The flooring was decent, mostly covered in dust and dirt. The top corners of the walls had depressing signs of drooping wallpaper. There were a few holes where the floor met the sides, most likely from mice or bugs. A small kitchen area was set up in the back right with a large pot sitting on the counter. A small table with four chairs was at the center and a bare mattress sat on an unstable bed frame in the back left corner. There was also a door to the left with an equally small bathroom.

We took one look at each other before sighing simultaneously.

What had we gotten ourselves into?

"Hello? I have luggage addressed to a Lily and Ian Duncan?" Behind us, a voice called out followed by the sounds of horseshoes clacking against the gravel path outside. Ian and I backed out of the crap pile...excuse me, I mean house.

"We're here!" I replied to whoever had said our names. Mounted on a brown Clydesdale, a older man wearing a green shirt with jeans slowly approached our house. Behind him, on a wagon attached to the horse's saddle, were some suitcases and random boxes with our stuff. Once the man was close enough, he jumped down from the saddle, patted the horse on the head, and walked over to us with an extended hand. Ian took it and said, "Thank you for delivering our stuff."

The man nodded graciously and smiled. "You're welcome, Ian was it?"

This time I spoke up. "Yeah, that's Ian and I'm Lily. It's very nice to meet you..." I dropped off the sentence for obvious reasons. Thankfully, he quickly caught on.

"Cain. Name's Cain. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Castanet!" He bellowed. Honestly, the Mayor had gotten to us first and said the same thing, but it seemed rude to burst Cain's bubble. We just smiled and thanked him once more. "Now, let me help you put your things into your new home. I know it's a little beaten up, but I'm sure you two will be able to fix it right up in no time!" Cain chattered, lifting a bulging box from the wagon with a grunt.

I pulled Ian's sleeve to get him to lean into me. "Did we really pack so much it makes a full-grown man struggle?" I commented, watching as Cain awkwardly waddled inside the house carrying the huge package. Ian only shrugged.

"He might be carrying the box of books I brought. Then again, it didn't give me much trouble when we loaded it onto the ferry..." We both decided it was better to forget it for the time being and finish transferring our stuff to our house. We finished unloading (finding another oddly-heavy box in the process) and thanked Cain for all he'd done before he left. The sun was setting as we went back inside for the last time. Our official first night on Castanet. This would probably have been more commemorable if the house was a little more inviting.

"We packed wine right? Anything with alcohol?" I asked, rummaging through some boxes. Ian was taking his clothes from his suitcase and storing them in a dresser. He chuckled at my attempt to drink away the stress I was already feeling. "I know I don't drink very often, but dammit, I need booze right now."

My twin smirked. "Kasey rubbed off on you, I see." He joked, closing the dresser doors. A shudder ran through me at the mention of Kasey. Kasey Williams. Probably one of the few people who knew how to get under my skin by just standing beside me. I didn't know what it was about him, maybe the cocky additude he had, or possibly the way he inhaled anything with alcohol in it without a second thought. All he was was a drunken buffoon and I was glad he was gone. Though I will admit if he wasn't Ian's best friend I wouldn't have met my best friend. His younger sister Angela. It was hard to imagine an alcoholic jerk like Kasey could have such a sweet and down to earth sister like her. She was to only thing related to him that I missed.

While searching for the bottle, I sliced off the tape of an unopened box only to see a small pile of books and other random things that wouldn't fit in the other containers. Confused, I looked around the room to see that the one box we suspected to be the books was still sitting in the corner, untouched. What freaked me out was that it was moving. Maybe I drank that wine at some point after all and I'm starting to see things. I stumbled backwards as the box shifted again.

"I-Ian! The box is alive!" I yelled, pointing at the squirming cardboard. A low moan escaped from it, causing my brother to finally pay attention to it.

"The hell? Lily, get a bat or something just in case."

"We didn't pack a bat!"

"In that case...uh...grab that rusty ladle over in the kitchen. If we can't knock him out, at least we'll give him tetanus." Together, we slowly made our way to the box, Ian handling a pair of scissors to remove the tape and me behind him gripping the cooking utensil. Finally, we made our move. Ian jumped forward and sliced the tape off the top and hopped back as I advanced with the ladle poised above my head, ready to attack. A body exploded from the top, packaging peanuts flying every which way.

"DIEEEEE!" I screamed, bringing the ladle down forcefully onto what I could only assume was the guy's head. I was pleased to hear him cry out in pain, but the sound of my ladle breaking in half took away the euphoria. I scrambled backwards, clutching Ian.

"What the frick, guys? The box says fragile!"

Ian stopped trembling with me to let out a hearty laugh at the familiar voice. I, on the other hand, was still very afraid.

Standing in front of us with a big bruise on his head, was none other than the bane of my existence. Kasey.

"No! Noo! Get out! OUT!" I screeched, clawing at the air like a frightened cat. He only stood there smiling that damn smile.

"If I didn't know you better, Lily, I'd say you weren't happy to see me."

"Bite me!"

I threw the handle of the broken ladle at Kasey. He swayed to the side to avoid it, tipping over the box he was in and leaving him sprawled in the dust. While Ian assisted him back to his feet, I crossed my arms and frowned.

Ian chuckled again. "Dude, you stowed away in our luggage? Not only was that dangerous, but if someone caught you, you'd probably end up in jail or something."

Kasey shrugged. "It was a risk I was willing to take. Besides I'd at least have a cellmate. Now where is she..." He stepped out of the box carefully and started examining the room, poking other boxes and looking inside them. Finally he came across the only other box we had yet to open. He took a position behind the package, cracked his knuckles and neck dramatically... and shoved it over with his foot. The impact with the floor caused the top to burst open with another eruption of styrofoam, revealing a second stowaway.

Dazed, Angela just stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before snapping her gaze at her laughing sibling. "What the hell, Kasey! You didn't have to dump me over!" She cried out as Kasey helped her up. "Hi guys!" She greeted us as if what had just happened was in no way unusual. "We've probably got a lot of explaining to do, don't we?"

I nodded. "Answer me this. Why?"

Angela put her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels like an innocent little kid. "Well, once you told us that you guys were leaving, I was really upset. I mean, losing two of my closest friends? Even Kasey was depressed about that!"

"I'm not sure how I should take the way you said, 'Even Kasey,'" her brother spoke up.

Ignoring him, Angela continued. "Anyway, I mentioned wanting to move to the island you guys were going to, and we agreed that it sounded like a good idea. Unfortunately, we didn't have the money for a ferry and you know what our parents are like, so my genius brother here-"

Kasey raised his hand proudly. "I suggested that we stow away in your luggage! It was actually pretty easy to do. That's probably not a very good thing, now that I think about it."

"Well, I suppose there isn't really anything we can do about it now," I said, resigning myself to this turn of events. "More importantly, where's your stuff? It's not like you came to this decision at the last minute, right?" Kasey and Angela exchanged a look I interpretted as the exact opposite. "Wow, guys." I laughed.

Kasey shrugged indifferently. "So we'll have to wear the same underwear for a while, big deal. We can always buy new ones. Or share. I'm about the same size as Ian, right?" he said, eyeing Ian from across the room, who started to look extremely uncomfortable.

I put my hands on my hips, ready with a rebuttle. "And what exactly do you plan to buy those clothes with, hm? I do hope you'll be getting a JOB. No way are we going to give you money just so you can waste it."

"Me enjoying a drink once in a while isn't wasting money. It's putting it to good use."

"I'd like to hear you say that after you get alcohol poisoning."

"You know my tolerance level. I hardly ever actually get drunk unless I'm really trying, so I'm fine."

"You don't know that. You'll just be sitting on a bar stool, enjoying a nice brew, and then BAM! You fall off and die."

"Why the sudden care for my well-being?"

"I don't care. I'm only bringing this up because I don't want to have to pay for the funeral."

"Yeah whatever, you totally care."

"I do not!"

"Do."

"NOT!"

Each new line in the argument closed the distance between me and Kasey, so that we were just inches from each other at this point. One more word, and I might actually hit the idiot.

"STOP IT!" Angela screamed, shutting both of us up before it got that far. "We didn't huddle up in cardboard boxes for three hours just so you two could bicker. Here, I'll help you unpack."

Ian nodded. "She's right. We've still got more stuff to unload."

We decided to be somewhat more mature for the moment and finish unloading the rest of our stuff. It took us a few hours, but we eventually got it all done. Clothes were shoved in the dresser, bathroom stuff went into the bathroom, and random other stuff we couldn't part with stayed in boxes until we came up with a better plan for it.

Angela was wiping the sweat form her forehead when she gasped out, "Okay, that took forever. I think we should all rest now." She plopped down on the mattress. Sadly for her, the unsturdy frame collapsed under the sudden weight. It crashed to the ground loudly as Angela let out a surprised shriek. Kasey howled with laughter, and as I turned to hide my own smile, I could see Ian shaking with a hand over his mouth to suppress his own amusement.

Angela, on the other hand was not in such good cheer. "I...think I killed a mouse," she mumbled, her face turning pale.

* * *

A few minutes later, tissues were handed to Angela as Ian lowered a dirty shoebox containing what was left of the poor rodent into the ground. We tossed a couple of stray flowers and herbs on top before my twin dumped earth back into the hole.

"May he rest in pieces." Angela jabbed her brother roughly in the ribs for the bad attempt at humor. "Ow! It's just a mouse!"

"It was probably the most cutest mouse in the world!" Angela shot back.

"Cutest? If it had come out in the open, you would have begged one of us to kill it."

Angela puffed her cheeks out, giving her the appearance of a chipmunk. "Whatever!" She hollered, closing and locking the front door after Ian and I had rushed inside, leaving Kasey all alone in the open.

He banged on the door a couple times while he begged to be let in. "Aw, come on Ange! I-I thought the mouse was cute too! I even scraped his corpse from under the bed because I care that much. Now let me in!"

She stood her ground though, crossing her arms with a smirk as Kasey's protests and pleas echoed through the empty field as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

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**So? What did you think? I hope it was better then the last one. The old version will remain up so I can look back at it for stuff. It will still retain most of the old stuff, but I hope to change a LOT of things that needed improvement. The story will most focus on four adults (they are about 19/20/21 in the story.) trying to survive in a more country place after living in the city for so long.**

**Blahblahblah Sil you ramble too much.**  
**Yes, yes I do.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated. :) Thanks for taking the time to read guys.**


	2. Morning

**Not much to say, but Thanks for the reviews, faves, and support! Enjoy :D Also this chapter is really long, so sorry about that.**

**HersheyChocolates101: Oh hey nice to see you again xD Anyways thanks for the tip! It should help me...and if not, well thanks for trying. lol The spell check I used was this (www . spellcheck . net ) It's very helpful to me for catching my eff ups :)**

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Everything hurt.

That was the first thought in my head the next morning. The antique analog clock shaped like a sunflower hanging next to the door read exactly six in the morning, yet the sun was already out and shining brightly through the window. That must have been what woke me up. I struggled to sit up, but my back was so stiff, it took a lot more effort than it should have for someone my age.

Last night had wound down with another argument between me and Kasey on sleeping arrangements. It wasn't as loud or close to violence as the last one, but it ended with Ian rationally deciding to allow me and Angela to share the bed while he and Kasey threw down a few blankets and pillows to sleep on the floor. Logically, we should have had the better end of the deal, but the mattress was so old and worn-down, it was like laying on needles. Needless to say, both of us had a hard time falling asleep. After a while, Angela got so fed up with it that she actually put her pillow under her back and used her arm to support her head.

I was so eager to get out of the torture device, that I didn't pay attention to where I put my feet until I felt one of them come down on something soft. To Kasey's credit, he simply let out a sharp gasp as opposed to shouting like I expected him to while cradling his injured hand.

"Geez, Lily. I know you don't like me, but you don't have to break my fingers in my sleep."

"Sorry." Wow, apologizing to Kasey. There's something I thought I'd never do.

Angela stirred behind me at the noise and rose. She groaned when she stretched her arms above her head, just as sore as me. "That was the most horrible night I've ever had to endure." She spoke softly, crawling off the bed and walking to the bathroom. I also got to my feet, more carefully this time, and headed into the "kitchen." There was a tiny, old fridge next to the counter, but it more than likely wouldn't contain anything edible. After all, who knows how long it had been since anyone lived here? Being the curious person I was, I went ahead and opened it anyway.

Unsurprisingly, the door creaked like there was no tomorrow and felt like it would fall off the hinges at any moment. Like I had predicted, the fridge was empty except for a jar half-filled with a greenish-brown liquid. I was a little too scared to try and figure out what it was at the moment, so I closed the door, once again filling the house with its horrendous screeching.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you everything I know, just please make it stop!" Kasey yelled as he picked himself off the ground, rubbing his back with his good hand. I chuckled quietly at him and he ruffled my hair while passing by to inspect the kitchen. "No food?"

I shrugged. "Ian and I had planned to do some grocery shopping when we got here, but with four of us now, I'm not sure we'll have enough cash. I do still have some snacks left over from the ferry ride, though."

"I'm not so sure a bag of chips is my ideal breakfast," he said before taking a seat at the table and running his hands over his face. Soon after, Angela came back out of the bathroom, sat down across from him, and laid her head down.

"This is actually more comfortable than the bed," she mumbled sleepily.

At this point Ian had woken up too, obvious signs of pain etched on his face as well. "So we can all agree that we had the worst night of sleep of our lives, right?"

"Absolutely."

"No doubt."

"Uh-huh."

"So what's the plan for today?" Ian asked as he and I joined the group at the table so we could talk.

Kasey spoke up with what we were all probably thinking. "Well, unless we plan to live off of snack cakes and pretzels for the rest of our lives, I suggest we head into town and see what's around."

"And how do you propose we pay for this?" I countered. "Like I said, Ian and I only brought enough money for the two of us, and even that was just a guess."

"Eh, we'll figure it out when we get there." Just another detestable facet to Kasey's personality: he never thinks anything through, and it usually ends with me or Ian getting caught up in something we'd have been much better off without. I open my mouth to protest again, but an uncharacteristically sharp look from Ian stops me. I guess even he can lose his patience when hungry.

Deciding to go along with Kasey's plan of looking for a restaurant or something in town, Angela and I took a change of clothes into the bathroom while Ian and Kasey stayed in the main room to change. Due to Kasey's limited wardrobe, he was forced to borrow one of Ian's outfits: a white shirt with red sleeves and a pair of blue cargo pants. He didn't mind the clothes themselves, but he was somewhat offput when he turned around and saw Ian wearing the exact same thing.

"Uh, Ian..."

"What?"

Kasey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It's not as if Ian was unintelligent, he's one of the smartest people I know, but he could be pretty blind in certain social situations.

"I _could_ ask the why we're wearing the same thing right now, but I think I'd rather know why you have two of the same outfit."

"I like it."

Kasey stammered for a few seconds while he tried in vain to grasp his friend's logic. Giving up on that, he continued, "Okay, fair enough. But if you knew I was wearing this already, why did you choose to wear it at the exact same time?"

"I like it."

Angela and I walked out of the bathroom to see Kasey standing, mouth agape, in front of a very confused-looking Ian. I was now wearing an orange, button-up tanktop over a yellow t-shirt with black shorts under a dark pink skirt while Angela had chosen an old green sundress of mine. I'll admit it looked more fitting on her than it ever did on me. Guess Ange always was more girly than me.

"What's wrong with Kasey?" I asked. "Besides the usual, that is."

Kasey came back to his senses with a shake of his head. "Nothing worth reliving," he said as he turned to face us. "You two ready to go?"

Angela skipped forward. "Yep! How do I look?" She ended with question with a twirl that sent the skirt billowing out around her.

Ian smiled at her while her brother just shrugged indifferently. "Fine, I guess," he told her. "It looks a little big on you, though." He must have felt the heat from my glare because he quickly turned to me with a look of fear. "That's not what I meant! You're taller than her is what I was saying!"

My brother took this opportunity to step in before Kasey said anything to make things worse. "It's pretty clear that extended conversation between the two of you can only lead to bad things, so I suggest we leave now."

And with that, the four of us stepped outside and started down the road that had brought us here from the port. With the town visible at the bottom of the hill, Angela brought up a question I had been waiting for.

"So...where are we exactly?"

I laughed. "What, you didn't have time to grab a brochure before you hopped in with our luggage? Well, to answer your question, we're on the island of Castanet, and we're currently heading towards Harmonica Town."

"No offense, but why here of all places?" Kasey asked. "Not that I don't dig the whole nature thing, but it's not what I expected when you told us you were moving away."

"Well, I've always liked the ocean, and Ian doesn't like big crowds, so we figured a small town on the coast would be perfect. Besides, we wanted a fresh start and this seemed like one of the best ways to do that."

Kasey snickered. "Yeah, our new place is about as 'fresh start' as it gets."

"This is such a pretty place, though," Angela sighed, looking up and watching sakura petals float with the gentle spring breeze. We continued to walk down the dirt path until we hit concrete. The walk down had taken close to ten minutes, but we had finally arrived in Harmonica Town. When we had gotten off the boat, Ian and I had been so eager to see our house that we hadn't really taken the time to look around, so in a way, this was our first real visit.

The buildings here weren't boring black and grey colors like they were back in The City. They had a variety of blue, orange, pink, and green shops and houses that was very pleasing to the eye. The whole town was on a slope, and the buildings were more or less placed in three layers with scattered staircases and a small canal flowing out of a cave in the very center.

I was so overwhelmed by the sights, I almost didn't notice the smell of fresh-baked bread and sweets till Angela grabbed my arm after we passed by the town hall. "Look!" She pointed ahead of us at a pinkish building with a sign propped up against it displaying the specials of the day. The most appealing part of it, though, was the scents filling our noses and making our stomachs growl.

And so, without any signs of caring if someone might be watching us, the four of us made a mad dash for the Ocarina Inn.

Thankfully, we collected ourselves somewhat before opening the door. Hot air hit us fast, the smells of food so thick it alone could have made you full. The first person we saw was a petite girl that looked about the same age as Angela. She had orange hair and a bright pink waitress dress on. She blinked her blue eyes at us before realizing we were people she'd never met

"Oh! Hi! Welcome to the Ocarina Inn! You guys must be the newcomers." She giggled. "But I only remember seeing two of you get off the boat yesterday...oh well! I'm Maya, by the way!" She was so bright and positive you could almost see her glowing. "Table for four?"

She took us over to a booth and we slid into it, Ian and I sharing a seat with Angela and Kasey sitting across from us. Maya left temporarily to get a notepad while we decided what to get.

"We should order the cheapest stuff," I said bluntly, flipping through the menu. "We have 2000 G, which is a pretty good amount, but we shouldn't blow it all on breakfast."

"The cheapest thing they have is 590 G and it's some kind of chips." Angela sighed, wrinkling her nose at the food.

Ian groaned. "I was hoping for an omelet, but it would waste almost half of our money."

"Damn, this sucks," I added, fairly certain everyone else would agree.

Maya bounced back to us. She tilted her head to the side when she noticed how down we looked. "What's wrong?"

"We're still deciding what to eat without throwing our money out the window," Kasey muttered, snapping his menu shut and placing it on the table.

Maya giggled adorably again. "Don't worry about it! First meal's free!"

We all perked up at the word "free". "W-what?" Ian stuttered.

"Yeah! My mom and aunt said that you guys don't have to pay. Think of it as a Welcome-to-the-Island meal."

Wow, these people were much nicer then I had expected. No eatery in our hometown would even utter the word free unless a lawsuit was imminent. "T-thank you so much!" Angela gushed, looking ready to cry. Kasey managed to calm her as we all scanned our menus once again with more eagerness.

A short time later, we all had hot meals laid out before us. It may have been somewhat tinted by the fact that we didn't have to pay for any of it, but it was the most delicious breakfast I'd had in a while.

With a face full of hotcakes, Kasey blurted out, "So where do we go after this?"

"Say it don't spray it," I grumbled irritably at him, flicking off a soggy flake from my cheek.

Setting down the fork used for his fried egg, Ian pulled out his map and looked over it. "I guess we could explore the town and get to know our new neighbors." He took notice of a clothing store that Angela would probably enjoy and a bar next door, making a mental note to keep Kasey away for as long as he could.

I ripped a hunk from my omelet and shoved it in my mouth. I swallowed before noticing Angela sitting in front of me without anything to eat, sipping her hot milk. "Ange, did you order anything?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, and here it is!" She clapped her hands excitedly as a good-sized bowl of strawberry ice cream was placed in front of her. The waitress giggled at the sight. "I haven't had ice cream in forever!" She smiled, picking her spoon up and filling her mouth with the treat. I couldn't help but glance to Ian and Kasey.

As Kasey put down his coffee mug, I could hear him mutter, "My little sis is gonna have diabetes by the time she's twenty." She elbowed him, but was smiling despite herself.

* * *

After we had finished breakfast, we thanked the owners, Jake and Coleen, and the cook, Yolanda, profusely. They told us that they were happy to have new young folk living here and to come back anytime. Now, we were outside the building deciding on a course of action. Angela and I were sitting on the concrete wall in front of the Inn, watching the vast blue waves crash in the water, while Ian and Kasey looked over the map.

"So...wow. You can't get this view back in The City." Angela whispered. I nodded.

"Well you could try, but the water would be brown and there would be cigarette butts and trash floating in it." Angela and I both wrinkled our noses at the thought. "I do miss some things, though."

"I miss Muffy." Angela sighed.

"Who?"

"She was a barmaid back at the old bar Kasey went to. We would always talk when I was there and she'd help me take my idiot home if he passed out. I think she actually had a bit of a crush on him." She looked over to me. "Do you miss anyone?"

I sighed, a faint smile on my lips. "Well, I miss my dad. Also Kurt and Gwen."

Angela giggled. "Oh I remember those two. They fought like a married couple. I hope they're doing alright."

"Alright, ladies, enough gossip," Kasey chided. We both looked over at Ian and Kasey walking down a flight of stairs. "We're gonna check out the bottom part of town. You two can start at the clinic and work your way up."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, whatever. Have fun at the bar!" I called out. Ian froze up in his tracks. Kasey, who had also ceased walking, slowly turned his head to Ian.

"Bar? Did it just now appear or something? I didn't see it on the map."

My brother chuckled awkwardly. "Well...it's not like I purposely covered the picture with my hand or anything."

Kasey snatched the map from his friend's hand and stared intently until he found what he was looking for. "Oh hey, it's right downstairs. Come on, Ian." He latched onto Ian's arm and started to pull him towards the stairs.

"Thanks for nothing!" Ian screamed in my general direction right before disappearing from sight.


	3. Greetings

"Kasey!" Ian called out to his friend in an effort to stop him as they neared the bar.

"Will you relax?" Kasey replied over his shoulder. "Despite what your sister thinks, I do have some self-control. Besides, it's not even nine. I doubt any self-respecting bar would be open this early."

"Then why are we going there?"

"I dunno. We told the girls we'd explore this part of town, and this is the closest place."

"Oh."

The tone of his friend's voice caused Kasey to stop in his tracks and turn around. "You sound disappointed, Ian. Don't tell me you had some speech prepared in case I actually decided to waste our money like that."

"...Yes," Ian admitted quietly.

Kasey patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, man. You'll get your chance to be a badass someday. Now, come on."

The Brass Bar was situated directly underneath the Ocarina Inn with a staircase around the corner that practically connected the two. Anywhere else, the building may have looked gaudy: light orange stone framing yellow-green double doors; but amongst the myriad of other colors that made up the rest of the town, it fit right in. Just like Kasey had said, a sign reading "Closed" hung from the door handle next to a list of business hours.

It was just as Ian walked over to read the list at Kasey's request when a voice on the other side could be heard shouting, "I'll be back soon, Dad!"

The door flew open as a girl with a blond ponytail stepped out, walking backwards to wave at whoever was inside. She was somewhat startled when she turned around and saw Kasey standing in front of her.

"H-hi," she said, regaining her composure. "Can I help you?"

Kasey shook his head. "Not particularly, but you might be able to help him." He pointed to something behind the young lady, and she spun around to see Ian sprawled on the ground by the door.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" She bent over to help him to his feet, and Kasey discreetly turned his head to avoid accidentally peeking in case her less-than-modest skirt should raise.

"It's not a big deal," Ian assured her as he straightened up and dusted off. "I was more surprised than hurt, anyway. But why is everything so blurry?" He waved his hand in front of his face experimentally.

"Probably because you're not wearing these," Kasey said, holding up the pair of glasses that had been dislodged during his fall.

Ian replaced the lenses and got his first good look at his assailant/helper. She wore a black halter top under a light blue, long-sleeved, button-up blouse tied off to bare her midriff, a brown skirt that ended high up on her thighs, a pair of tan cowgirl boots, and a necklace with a feather of some kind on it. But what Ian noticed most was her emerald-colored eyes, mostly because they were one of the few things he could actually see before regaining his vision.

"So, are you the ones who moved into the old ranch?" the girl asked. "Oh wait, I should probably introduce myself first. I'm Kathy." She shook their hands as Kasey and Ian introduced themselves and confirmed that they were indeed the new residents. "We're not actually open yet, but would you like to come in for some tea or something? Think of it as a welcoming gift and an apology for laying you out earlier."

Ian looked over to Kasey, who shrugged and said, "I can't think of a reason we shouldn't. We wanted to meet the neighbors, right?"

"I guess so," Ian agreed with a shrug of his own.

The inside of the bar was far different from the exterior. The red brick walls and grey stone floors combined with the dark wooden tables and bar for a subtle yet refined atmosphere that suited the place. The far left corner of the room was taken up by a small stage with a piano and several smaller instruments leaning against the wall. On the opposite side was a long wooden counter with several cushioned stools lined up in front of it. Behind that, a shelf packed with bottles and cooking ingredients stood next to a small yet fully-functional kitchen area.

A bearded man in a white shirt, blue jeans, and a light brown vest looked up from polishing a glass as the door opened and a blonde and two brunettes walked inside and over to him.

"I'm not sure what to think about you leaving to visit a friend and coming back with two boys a couple of minutes later," he said in a way that made it hard to tell whether he was joking or not.

"They're the ones that moved into the ranch on top of the hill," Kathy explained. "Ian and Kasey." She turned to address her guests now. "This is my dad, Hayden. He's the owner of this bar."

Hayden nodded in greeting with a smile...maybe. It was hard to tell with all of the facial hair.

"For the record, we're not the only ones living there," Kasey said. "There's two more of us."

"Four of you are living in that tiny little house?" Kathy asked.

"That wasn't originally the plan," Ian grumbled. Kathy and Hayden looked confused by that, but he waved it off. "Long story."

Eager to end the awkward silence that followed, Kathy clapped her hands together. "I think I'll just get our drinks now. Tea's fine with you guys, right?"

The boys nodded and took a seat at one of the tables while Kathy moved behind the bar to start brewing the tea. Hayden, after finishing a few more tasks, mumbled something to Kathy before disappearing through a door at the back of the room.

From where he was seated, Ian noticed that the wall just in front of the bar was covered in photographs, some several years old. A few were of the bar as it had changed over the years, others were pictures of seated customers, but most were taken in the town and the surrounding areas. Landscape shots, photos from various festivals and competitions, moments in the residents' lives that they found worthy of sharing were the most notable. And in the very center was the picture of a little girl with golden hair and green eyes that could only be a younger Kathy.

Ian's attention was taken away from the wall when a chime sounded from Kasey's pocket. Kasey pulled the cell phone out and looked at the screen.

"Oh, hey! It's a text from Muffy," Kasey said after reading the notification. "She wants to know where I was last night."

Ian raised an eyebrow. "Your visits were so frequent, she actually notices when you're not there?"

"Not exactly. It's just that drinks are discounted on Mondays, and I usually show up. I guess I won't be doing that anymore, huh?"

"You can always go back and visit once in a while."

"Once we actually get some money for boat tickets, you mean."

"True."

As Kasey typed out a reply, Kathy came over carrying a tray with three cups of tea and set it on the table before sitting down.

After taking her drink and setting it in front of her Kathy asked, "If you don't mind me asking, are the two of you brothers?"

"No," Ian said, confused by the question. "What makes you think that?"

"Maybe it's because we're wearing the same damn thing, Ian!" Kasey said irritably.

"Oh! I never thought of that. Sorry, Kasey." Ian laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck while Kasey sighed and ran a hand down his face.

Kathy giggled at the spectacle and took a sip of her tea before asking her next question. "So who are the two other people you said you were living with?"

"Our sisters," Kasey answered. "That is, my sister, Angela, and Ian's sister, Lily. Angela's a couple years younger than me, but Lily and Ian are actually twins."

"Really? That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't think it at first," he continued. "Ian's all gentle and polite, but Lily's stubborn and opinionated."

"Hey!" Ian objected.

"Am I lying?" Kasey asked him.

After a few seconds of thinking, Ian shook his head. "I guess not. By the way, Kathy, where did your dad go? He's been back there for a while."

"He's getting some sleep before we open the bar again," she told him.

"You live here?"

"Yeah. Our rooms are in the back."

"Good to know," Kasey said, taking a sip of his drink right before Ian kicked him under the table. "Ow! What?"

"So, is it just the two of you working here, Kathy?" Ian asked, ignoring his friend's annoyed whispers.

"No. We've got a cook that doesn't come in until six. We also have a dancer, but she's sleeping too." Kasey wiggled his eyebrows at Ian when he heard "Dancer," but Ian ignored him again. "So where are the two of you from, and why did you move out here?"

Ian sighed. "Like I said, it's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Yeah. Tell us a story, Daddy," Kasey said in a squeaky, high-pitched voice.

"If you say so," Ian resigned.

* * *

Angela and I were just leaving the Choral Clinic, waving at the doctor and his grandmother before closing the door completely. "They are so nice! Irene is the sweetest old lady I've ever met." Angela giggled, causing me to break out in laughter as well.

"Where should we go next?" I asked. We both looked around us and settled on a large building above the clinic. It had a dome-like ceiling that looked like it could be opened to get a better view of the sky. "Observatory?" I guessed.

She shrugged. "Possibly. Only one way to find out." Angela knocked a couple times on the door, waiting for a reply or the door to swing open. With no response, she tried again. "Hello?" she called.

"Either no one is home or they don't want to be disturbed. We can ask somebody about it later. Let's just move on." We moved away from the house and back onto the cobblestone road. Angela was mentioning a church she had seen from the top of the hill when I felt something bump my leg. I looked down to see a medium-sized collie sniffing my shoes. "Awww! Aren't you a sweetie!" I immediately gushed, squatting down to pet the dog.

Angela smiled and patted the puppy on the back too. "He's so cute." She laughed. The collie barked and jumped backwards, leaning back with his front paws forward in a playful stance. "I think he wants to play." The collie whined a little, breaking my heart into submission.

"It...wouldn't hurt to play with him for a little bit." Angela rolled her eyes jokingly at me. "What?"

"You're such a kid."

The collie was so wired up, he looked about ready to pounce on us both until his little ears suddenly perked up. His gaze went directly to a house on our right nestled in the corner of the town with the road branching off to give access to the roof. The collie walked towards the building, sniffing the ground. "What's he doing?" Angela questioned. I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it the minute a loud bang was heard from the house. It sounded like someone punched a piece of wood.

"I already told you, my hands are tied! I can't send any more requests without them completely rejecting all orders from the island!"

"Well, you better tell them to hurry up or you'll have a bunch of unhappy villagers hounding your ass!"

Angela and I both got closer to the house, secretly listening to the argument we had no right to be hearing. One of the guys who was yelling a while ago gave a loud sigh. "Look." His voice sounded slightly muffled, like his hands were in front of his mouth. "Griffin and Jack have been loyal and patient with us for years. They wouldn't be taking this long to ship our goods unless some type of emergency came up. We just have to be patient."

The other guy gave a rude scoff. "Well, I can't be patient for too long. Ingredients are getting scarce these days, and I can only improvise so much until I have to serve saltine crackers with cheese from a can." Footsteps began to get closer to the door with each word the man uttered. Angela and I both shared a terrified look before bolting from the yard and away from the house. Sadly for Ange, her dress caught on the fence as she turned the corner. She yelped when the force swung her back and onto her rear.

The collie and I could only look on from higher up as the door opened and a man stepped out. The guy, from the view I currently had, wore a white work shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbow. He had black jeans and blue sandals on as well. His peach-colored hair was messy in the back, but probably looked better from the front. He took notice of Angela right away.

She was sitting on the ground with her knees touching in front of her, and her eyes were glistening a little from fear, shock, and embarrassment. The dress was still caught on the fence, out of her reach to untangle. The man hesitated when he first caught sight of Angela, but regained enough composure to walk towards her.

"U-Uhm." Angela stuttered, looking to the side. "H-Hello!" she greeted in a somewhat cheerful way. Her words couldn't cover up the fact she looked liked a rejected puppy on the street. The guy still remained silent, just walked past her body that was on the ground. Angela was about to yell at him to help when she felt him unhooking the green fabric from the metal fence before offering her a hand. Carefully, Angela grabbed him by the wrist and pulled herself up. "Thank you."

"I'm not going to ask why or how you got stuck that way, but be more careful next time." Finally, he'd said something.

Angela straightened up, crossing her arms behind her back. "I'm sorry about that. I'm a little clumsy and I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."

"You're the new islander who moved to that house, right?" he asked out of the blue. She was a tad slow to reply due to the sudden change of subject, but she answered anyway.

"Y-yes. Actually I live there with my brother and two friends in that really tiny house. We're all just exploring and introducing ourselves right now."

He nodded. From the side angle, he looked like he was bored of talking with her, though that could just be the way he always looks. "I'm Chase. I work at the Brass Bar over there." He pointed behind Angela at the building Kasey and Ian had gone earlier. "You?" She turned back to him with a raised eyebrow before catching his meanin.

"Oh! I'm Angela!" They shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Chase. I'm sure I'll be seeing you very often. Wait, that makes me sound weird...I meant my brother likes to drink so he'll be at the bar where you work a lot and I'm usually the one to bring him home if he's drunk or whatever." She rambled on and on, each passing second making her look more pathetic. Since Chase had his back to me I waved my hands over my head to grab her attention. I made a motion with my hand telling her to shut up before she made a fool of herself. "Uh...sorry. I didn't mean to talk for so long about nothing. I'll get out of your way, now."

Angela moved to the side so Chase could walk towards the bridge that led towards our place. He turned around to say something, but diverted his eyes to an object behind her. "By the way, the bar opens at four." He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it and turned back around to head off. I came out from my hiding spot to join Angela.

"He's weird," I said simply.

"I made an idiot of myself didn't I? I had no idea what I was supposed to say!" Angela sobbed dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. We started walking past the Town Hall when the door to the building beside it opened and out stepped Ian and Kasey. They waved to a man inside before closing it. "Hey guys."

Kasey nodded at his sister. "You two have fun?"

I snickered. "Angela certainly found a new way to make friends." She shot me a 'shut up' glare which only made me laugh more. Clueless to our jokes, Ian shook a camera to get our attention.

"Well the man in there, Simon, owns a photography store and gave us one of his old cameras free of charge. I figured you might enjoy that, Lily. He also tossed in a camera stand." Kasey had the stand slung over his shoulder like a lumberjack carrying a tree trunk.

A grin spread to my lips when my twin brother passed the battered black contraption to me. I loved photography, and to have a own little store dedicated to it was awesome. At this point, a few hours had passed since we arrived, and he four of us decided to go home and rest for a bit before we continued exploring the island. While Angela skipped ahead, I walked between the boys and asked them about how their tour had gone.

"Pretty good," Kasey said. "We met a couple of the people at the bar and the fishery, we skipped out on the clothing store for the moment, and then we went into Simon's and got the camera. I also got a text from a friend back home."

"Muffy?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually. How did you-"

"Ange told me." To which, he just nodded. "She also told me that there may have been a little...something between you." To my surprise when Kasey heard this he started laughing. "What?"

"Angela thinks any girl who says more than two words to me has a crush on me. And who can blame her? Am I right, Ian?" He held up a hand for a high five, but Ian wasn't even paying attention. "Ah, you're no fun. But anyway, I can assure you that there was nothing whatsoever between me and Muffy. We were friends, and neither of us really had any desire to change what we already had."

"Wow. That's deep, even for you," I said. "Does Angela know that?"

"Nah," Kasey said with a mischievious grin. "It's fun to see her get all starry-eyed when she's trying to play matchmaker."

I shook my head at him, and we finished the walk in silence. As the four of us reached the front of the house, I had an idea.

"Hey," I started, and the others stopped and looked at me. "I know it's not the prettiest backdrop, but why not take a picture together? Ya know, commemorate our first day, and look back on where we started."

No one had any objections, so I ordered Kasey to set up the stand a few feet away from the door. After setting the camera on the tripod, I pressed a few buttons to get everything set up. A countdown started which signaled I had ten seconds to get in position before it snapped a picture. I ran around and wrapped my arms around Ian's side while Kasey and Angela stood side-by-side to our right. When the picture was taken, I went to examine it.

Angela was posed with her hands behind her back like when she was talking to Chase. Ian was smiling softly, the flash making a cool effect with the way it gleamed off his glasses. What bothered me, though, was the two fingers poised behind my head. "Kasey!"

"In my defense, you should've seen it coming."


	4. Rude

**Sorry for the long long delay on this story. It took us a while to figure out how to end this. I finally threw something in due to the last update being two months ago. I'll try not to keep you deprived of SOL for that long...but no promises :D**

**I'm also happy to see a lot of fans and alerts and old reviewers back to give their helpful opinions. I love you guys -less then three- You seriously motivate me to write my stories. Thanks a bunch and I hope you enjoy :3**

* * *

With the day only halfway over after our tour of the town, we decided to follow the road in the other direction to Flute Fields after taking a short break at our house. After that morning's clothing faux pas, Ian had changed into a plain white shirt with blue cuffed sleeves and a green scarf-bowtie-thing.

Crossing the bridge spanning a wide river with a waterwheel underneath it, the road branched once again in two directions: straight ahead to a farm surrounded by fields of crops, and left towards a ranch with an enormous barn, a chicken coop built into the side, and wide-open pastures stretching as far as the eye could see. There was also a side road off of the ranch-side path leading into a thick forest.

"So, where to first?" Kasey asked. None of us really cared about the order of our visits, so in the end, we resorted to the one tried-and-true method of decision-making in human history.

We flipped a coin.

"The ranch it is," I said afterwards.

"What kinds of animals do you think they have?" Angela asked as we started down the path.

"Probably the usual," I told her. "Cows, horses, sheep..."

"Ostriches," Kasey added, getting a weird look from the rest of us. "What? It's possible. You don't know what they've got."

As we approached the small red-roofed house, I noticed a sign on top of the porch declaring that the place was called Horn Ranch. We heard a shout from across the yard, and we looked to see that the door to the barn was open and Cain, the man who had brought our stuff to the house, had stepped out and started waving at us. We walked over to him, and a plump woman in an orange and yellow dress stepped outside as well.

"Hey there," Cain greeted us. "What brings you out here?"

"Just getting to know everybody," I answered.

"Makes sense." He turned to the woman who I assumed to be his wife. "These are the ones I was helping yesterday. Ian, Lily, and..." He trailed off as he just now registered Kasey and Angela's presence. "I don't remember seeing you two before."

"Yeah...We took a more...discreet form of transportation to get here," Kasey said. "Anyway, I'm Kasey. And this is Angela, my sister."

"Nice to meet you. Name's Cain, and this is my wife, Hanna."

Hanna gave a cheery smile as Ian and I also introduced ourselves. "How have things been since you got here?" she asked.

"Pretty good," Ian answered. "We still have to buy groceries and stuff, though."

Hanna waved a hand in front of her. "Oh, don't worry about. We and the folks over at Marimba Farm have been putting something together for our new neighbors. Though I suppose with four of you now instead of two, we might need to add a bit more."

"You don't have to do that!" I said. "I mean, if it's such a bother-"

"Ah, it's no trouble at all," Cain assured me. "People around here like to help each other out. Besides, we'd feel guilty making you spend what money you have right now when you haven't even had a chance to settle in and find a source of income." Wow, the people here sure are generous. "By the way, our daughter should be in the coop right now if you want to say hi. She loves meeting new people."

"Sounds good."

Cain and Hanna started making their way back to their house while our group veered right towards the chicken coop beside the barn. As Ian opened the door, he yelped as a blur of white feathers flew right into his face. After fending off the attack and brushing off his clothes, Kasey patted him on the shoulder.

"Just not having good luck with doors today, huh?" he said.

Before Angela or I could ask what he meant by that, a quiet "Hello" from further inside drew our attention. A girl with short, brown hair wearing a yellow dress was standing in the middle of a circle of chickens and ducks, scattering feed from a bag in her left hand. As the birds pecked at the ground, she stepped over them and walked over with a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Renee," she said after we had introduced ourselves. "I know you just moved in, but do you plan on starting up the ranch again?"

"Ranch?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. That's what your place was before the previous owner left. Didn't you see the barn?"

That was a barn? It had been in even worse shape than the house, so I thought it was just a big shed or something. "I guess we just never noticed. Even so, I'm not sure we'll be doing anything like that anytime soon."

"I understand. But if you ever need anything, my parents and I would be happy to help."

"Thanks, Renee." I turned to the others. "Should we go check out that other farm now?"

"Can we stay a little longer?" Angela asked with an almost child-like innocence.

I giggled at her and agreed to look around for a little bit. To be honest, I had been eyeing the ducks ever since we had walked in. I love ducks. In fact, back in the City, I often went to the pond in the park a few blocks from home to see a group of them that lived there. And so, it was with barely-suppressed giddiness that I knelt down beside one of the white birds and ran a finger along the top of its head.

Then, I heard Angela behind me saying, "Hey, Renee, what are these?"

"Silkworms," she answered.

"They're so cute! Lily, come look at 'em!"

I walked over to see Angela holding a small, white worm curled up in her palm. I'll admit it was pretty cute-looking, in a way I never expected to think of a worm anyway.

A few minutes later, we went back outside so we could start exploring the other areas. But before we could leave, Kasey stopped and turned around.

"Hold on, I've gotta check something," he said, running back towards the barn and sliding the heavy door open. "Ha! I knew it!"

Curious, the rest of us joined him to see what he was talking about. Inside, I could see a bunch of different animals: cows, sheep, horses, goats, and...ostriches.

"Okay, Kasey," I said. "I guess you were right about something for once."

He laughed. "Geez, at least _pretend _to be happy for me."

At the sight of my and Kasey's banter, Renee started giggling quietly. When Ian asked what was so funny, she said, "It's nothing. I was just thinking how close the four of you must be. I mean, you're all living together after all."

"Yeah, we're the perfect team," Kasey replied. "Ian's the smart, I'm the good-looking one, Angela's the emotional one of the group, and Lily's the hotheaded bruiser."

"Hey!"

"Plus, I think she might have a thing for me."

"That's it!" I finally exploded and started chasing after him while he laughed like a maniac. "Get back here! I'm gonna throw you back in that box and send you back where you belong, away from me!"

"Don't worry. That's normal," Angela assured Renee when the latter started to look concerned. "We'll see you later, Renee."

"Oh. Um...Goodbye, then." She waved as Ian and Angela walked away to catch up with us.

Eventually, I gave up on trying to murder Kasey and we got back on track, but I still made him stay at least five feet away at all times.

As we walked towards the other end of Flute Fields, our attention was drawn to the massive rows of crops and flowers. Two people were in the middle of the mess with hoses, quenching the thirsts of the parched plants. Given that family businesses seem to be the norm around here, I assumed they were married. Like the ranch, the house also had a large sign above the door. Marimba Farm. There was also a smaller house we passed on the left with an orange roof that we weren't sure if it was part of the property or not.

"Heeey!" A kid's voice called. We turned our attention to a little boy with spiked blond hair running over to us, a bag of seeds spilling everywhere with each step he made towards us. "Are you the new people? I thought farming was something old people did."

"Taylor!" A stern and adult tone made the boy cringe. Behind him, a slender woman with dark black hair stepped out onto the porch. "That was very rude, Taylor. You should apologize."

Taylor grumbled and shifted a few rocks with the tip of his shoe. "Sorry."

Angela giggled. "It's fine."

The older woman, a sister maybe, sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry about my brother. Welcome to Marimba Farm. My name is Anissa and this is Taylor. Our parents are watering the crops right now, but you may have been able to see them."

Introductions were getting dull at this point. Repeating the same thing over and over again was kinda bugging me, but regardless of how I felt, I told her our names and answered questions she had about the farm. To be honest, I didn't know it was a farm before today. The 'plot' in the vast open field was hardly recognizable. Weeds and grass grew over the once-plowed land, making it hard to make out from a distance. If you were close, though, you could still kinda make out the lines. Also, there were fruit trees just to the right of it, so it was easy to remember the exact location. I should probably check if anything was growing in them.

Ian was scratching the back of his head, eyes squinted under his glasses. Anissa must have asked him a difficult question. "You know, I'm not so sure. We're city people. It could take us some time and thought if we really wanted to."

Her black and silky hair floated across her chest as she nodded. "I understand. Our family came from the city as well. It took us time to get into the swing of things. If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask us."

"Sis!" Taylor yelled from the field. "My turnip seeds are gone! Help me find more!"

My eyes turned down to the ground where white dots littered the earth. I wondered if they'd wake up one day and see a bunch of turnips growing in their front yard.

Anissa bid us farewell as she silently went to comfort her distraut brother. That left us with one final building to go into.

The orange house didn't looked occupied, but if it wasn't for the raised flag on the red mailbox, we probably would have skipped over it. There wasn't any sign of life: no shift in the curtains from a hiding peeper or a bloodshot eye staring at us from the little hole centered in the door. We knocked anyway.

The door opened after a few seconds of waiting. It took me only a millisecond to recognise the guy we'd met back in Harmonica Town. What did he say his name was? I didn't quite catch it, but it sounded like Ace.

"Chase!" Angela squeaked, looking equally as surprised to see him. "You live here?"

"No, I was just sleeping in some stranger's house for the heck of it," he replied irritabley. He looked groggy, like we had just awoken him from a nap. I suddenly felt a little sorry for interrupting the obviously-needed beauty rest.

Angela fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "Sorry, that was a stupid question. We didn't know who lived here and we wanted to introduce ourselves." She went around the group of us, touching our shoulder or head while saying our name and relationship to one another. Once she was done, Chase still had the same sleepy expression since he opened the door.

"Yeah yeah, nice to see you. Are you done?"

My friend blinked her eyes, biting her lip. "Yeah, I guess-"

_SLAM_

As soon as those words left her trembling lip, he had the door closed straight in our face, the wind from the fast movement cooling our faces. Kasey narrowed his glare to the orange door. "Well, that killed the mood."


	5. Fishin'

**Oh hey guess who decided to update after three months of...not updating.**

**Well I really have no excuse as to why it took me so long to update SOL, besides the fact that I'm not as interesting in Harvest Moon as I was when I first started this. Despite the lack of updates, I still got the occasional fave from random readers, which begs the questions as to how they even found it. Whatever, I'm thankful for all who have reviewed, faved, alerted, what-have-you.**

**This morning I re-read over the story and my mind just flooded with ideas. I was in study hall for an hour today and I worked up 17 chapter ideas! 17! Can you believe that?! They might not all be used, but hey I tried. Hopefully I'll be updating this more often, but again I keep no promises.**

**Thank you for all your support guys!**

* * *

"Okay, we need money," I announced, slamming my fist onto the unsteady table in the middle of our house. "We've gotta find some way to bring in a steady amount that can support us all."

Ian drummed his fingers on the wood, adjusting his glasses with his other hand. "Despite the fact that this used to be a ranch we don't have the means or knowledge to raise livestock, so that's out of the question. And we can't really grow anything in that plot out front for similar reasons.." There was a collection of nods at his statement. "So what else is there to do around here?"

"Well, what about fishing?" Angela suggested, grabbing our attention. "You did say that there was a fishery in Harmonica Town. If we fished, we could cook some and sell the rest!" Her voice rose with excitement the more she spoke. I didn't see any flaws with that plan, despite the fact that I'm not really a fish-eater. I guess I'd have to live with it if I wanted to...well, live.

Ian on the other hand didn't look as convinced. "But...we don't have fishing rods, so we'd have to buy them with the money we don't have yet."

"Well, damn." Kasey leaned back in his chair, putting his feet on the table. "What now?"

My twin rose from his seat. "I'm going to the fishery to see if we can't figure something out." He walked over to the door and opened it slightly. "Anyone want to join me?"

Angela shot up from her seat, adjusting her dress more comfortably. "I do!"

"Wait wait," I started, holding the door open before they left. "Do you honestly think it's a good idea to leave me and _him_ alone together?" I whispered, motioning with my head backwards at Kasey.

"I trust that you'll be adults and not destroy the house." Ian rolled his eyes. "Just ignore him or something. We won't be long." With that, the door shut behind them. I crossed my arms and started walking around the house, listening to the creaks from Kasey's chair as he rocked back and forth. We didn't say anything really, until I heard his chair fall forward on all four legs.

Kasey walked to the door and headed outside. "Wait, where are you going?" I asked, following after him.

"I just had an idea! Go find a metal rod or something, would ya?" He was on his knees, rummaging around the base of a tree and in a bush. My hands automatically went to my hips.

"What for?"

He broke off a branch from the tree and held up a pointed rock. He tossed the rock into the air and caught it again, a grin on his face. "We're going fishin'."

* * *

This was just stupid.

Somehow, and I don't even know how, Kasey had gotten into his head the idea to go spear-fishing. We had sharpened the rock to a pretty decent point and taped it to the stick. I could already tell this wasn't going to work when Kasey jumped into the little pond near our house. He removed his shoes and rolled up his pant legs to keep them from getting wet, and he just stood there with the spear poised over his head, staring into the water.

"Come on, you little bastards. I'm not gonna hurt you." He whispered, moving around a little, but keeping his eyes glued to the water. I was standing on the side, watching this idiot try to do the impossible.

"You're doing a great job there." I laughed.

"Shut up, you're scaring the fish."

"And a hunger-crazed man with a duct tape spear over his head isn't scaring them already?"

He ignored me and continued to stare into the water. Finally he took the spear in two hands, stood completely still for a few seconds, and striked the water with a loud, "HIYA!" Just the sight of it, I couldn't help but bust out laughing. Kasey cursed when he didn't get anything, so he tried again and again. Each time he did it, the more frustrated he got. "Lily," he whined. "Come help meeee."

I shook my head. "I don't think there is anything I can do to help with this train wreck."

"Go get a bucket and...I don't know, scare the fish in my direction. I saw that on Animal Planet once." I still refused. "Pleaseeeeee!"

"You'll keep whining until I say yes, won't you..."

"Pretty much."

I groaned. "Fine, only because you're giving me a headache." I removed my boots and socks, tossing them aside before collecting a bucket from the pile of equipment on our porch. I found some old mucking boots beside the house and decided to put them on, even though they were completely disgusting. I didn't want to risk walking around in that water and stepping on a fishing hook or something. The water was surprisingly nice feeling, not too cold like I expected it to be, as I cleaned the rusty bucket a little. Finally I was ready, and I trudged over to Kasey slowly. Seriously, it was like walking in glue. Each time I lifted my foot to take a step I could feel the boot getting stuck in the wet mud, nearly causing me to fall face first. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" I huffed, swinging the bucket around.

He pointed a little ways ahead of us. "Use the bucket to scare the fish in my direction so I can spear them. You gotta be fast, though."

I laughed once humorlessly. "Yeah that's gonna be easy." I scoffed, moving forward at a snail pace.

"Then just take the boots off." Kasey replied behind me. I wanted to turn around and give him what for, but I was stuck again. I settled with looking over my shoulder.

"There is no way I'm going to stick my feet in this crap. There could be fishing hooks down there."

"I've been all around this stupid pond in my bare feet for like twenty minutes and I haven't lost a foot, so stop being a wuss." He snapped, stabbing the water again and cursing.

He was obviously not in the mood for me being whiny, so I went ahead and removed the boots and tossed them onto land. I was able to move faster, but the mud underneath my feet felt so slimy and gross that I didn't want to stand in one spot for too long anyway. "Ready?" I called out, sliding the bucket into the water slowly. Kasey nodded, the spear poised overhead. I did a mental count to three before rushing forward as fast as I could, shoving the bucket ahead. I could see the figures of fish moving frantically ahead, away from me and towards Kasey. With another yell, he stabbed the water. "Did you get anything?" I asked with a smile. I had to admit, this was kinda fun.

Kasey lifted the spear up. No fish. "I think I was close though. Go back, let's try this again."

I nodded and headed back a fair distance. We stood still for a while, waiting for the fish to regroup again before I looked up at Kasey. His expression was very serious, and he gestured with his hand to go ahead. Another countdown before I launched forward, laughing like a maniac as I watched the fish freak out once again. Kasey threw the spear just as I passed him, almost tumbling into the dirty water. "Oh my god!" Kasey exclaimed. For a spilt second I thought he had pierced through his foot or something, but when I turned around there was a wriggling catfish on the spear. "Look at it! Holy crap, we got a catfish!" He was jumping up and down with excitement, causing me to break out into laughter.

Kasey hopped over to me and gave me a hug. Normally I would have pushed him away, but I was too excited to care. I hugged him back and we just continued to laugh and holler.

That is, until we heard a voice behind us.

"What the heck are you two doing?"

Ian was standing near my shoes, a book in his hands. Angela was standing beside him, covering her mouth to hide the smile she had. Kasey held up his spear proudly. "We're not going to starve!" he exclaimed.

* * *

**I want to thank you readers who have been patient while I've just been lazy. Let's hope I can keep up the updates. Have a wonderful day :D**

**~Sil**


	6. Beginnings

There are a couple of reasons I don't eat fish.

The first reason is because when I was growing up my family had a very large fish tank with a lot of exotic fish from different places, and I was always very fascinated with them. I can remember sitting in front of the huge tank crossed legged, just watching them swim elegantly. I'd spend hours pretending they had lives of their own, with names and families. My favorite fish was Angel, an angelfish. She was really popular in the tank, but never paid the other fish any attention. She was with Bob the Barracuda, even though he was twice her size. That was a couple of years ago, so I doubt Angel, Bob, and the other fish were still alive to this day, but I still like to think about them every now and again. You could say I had an attachment to the aquatic variety.

Another reason I don't like fish, is simply because I just don't like the taste. That may or may not have anything to do with the previous story, but nonetheless, I think it just tastes bland and gross.

So while Angela was frying catfish on the stove, I was sitting on the uncomfortable mattress with a bag of chips. "Are you sure you don't want any?" Angela asked for the millionth time. "I'm going to feel terrible for eating while you only get Doritos."

I waved a hand at her dismissively. "Ange, it's fine. Go ahead and enjoy. Besides, I love Doritos." I shoved another chip in my mouth to prove my point. Angela's eyebrows knitted together, but she nodded and continued to poke the sizzling fish with a plastic fork.

Ian was sitting at the table with the fishing book Ozzie gave him at the fishery. It gave a lot of tips for fishing and other facts I didn't care to know. He was being patient on waiting for his share of food, unlike the person sitting across from him. Kasey was holding a fork and knife in his hands, pounding the table a few times. "Angelaaaa-"

"Kasey, shut up. I'm almost done." His sister snapped, pointing the fork in his face. "You get really whiny when you're hungry." She huffed, getting a chuckle from Ian in return.

"You know what we should do after dinner?" Kasey commented randomly, setting his utensils down. Ian peered over his glasses at him. "We should go to the bar."

With a mouth full of nacho cheese chips, I snorted. "So you can blow the little bit of money we have?"

"Maybe they'll be like Colleen and Jake and our first drink is free or something." He shrugged.

"Not everyone is going to be that nice." Angela replied, walking towards the table with the frying pan. She dumped the fried pieces of fish onto a plate in the middle of the table started dividing it between the three of them. While they ate, I sat on the bed and rummaged through my travel bag for more Doritos.

"Actually, going to the bar might not be a bad idea," Angela said after a minute of silence. "It'll be like a celebration for finally getting settled in."

Kasey swallowed a piece of meat and gave Ian a devious look. "Plus, we'll get a chance to see the entertainment." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Angela to blink in confusion.

It didn't take them long to finish eating, what with the small portions they had, so we were able to walk to the bar soon after making those plans. "So, what's it like in there?" I asked my brother, nudging him in the side playfully.

He shrugged. "It's pretty nice, actually. A lot cleaner than most of the ones in The City. It's a little on the small side, but they probably don't get too many customers out here." Ian then proceeded to tell the story of how they'd met Kathy and Hayden with Kasey helpfully chiming in when he "forgot" to mention the part where he got hit by a door. By the time he finished, we were already outside the doors with jolly voices, clinking glassware, and the smell of tasty food drifting out to us. Kasey was the first one in, holding it open for the rest of us. "Okay...I may have been wrong about what I said earlier."

For a small-town bar the place was pretty packed. There were faces both familiar and new seated either at the bar or at one of the scattered tables. A girl I assumed to be Kathy was rushing around with a tray, picking up empty glasses and placing down full ones. She looked up from talking to a buff redhead just in time to see us walking in. "Oh hey guys! Welcome to the Brass Bar!" she chirped happily, flipping her blond hair out of her face. "Just find yourselves a seat and I'll get to you shortly."

We settled with a table on the right on the right side of the room, which happened to be set for four. Angela and I chose to sit with our backs to the other patrons with Ian and Kasey plopping down across from us. Not long afterward, Kathy bounced over to us with pen and paper. "What can I get for you guys? Dad said it's on the house for tonight. Think of it like a welcoming gift slash first visit special." Kasey shot his sister a smug look, which she returned by sticking out her tongue.

"Grape cocktail, please." I ordered after taking a second to look over the menu above the bar. I felt Angela poke my side. "Make that two."

"A nice, cold beer," Kasey said with a nod.

Kathy twirled her pen. "Glass or bottle?"

"Bottle, my good lady."

She laughed and turned to Ian, smiling apologetically. "Same for you?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll just have a wa-."

"Noooo, you won't," Kasey interrupted, pointing a finger in Ian's face. "Get him a scotch. On the rocks." Ian opened his mouth to object, but Kasey's hand covered it as Kathy scribbled down the order on her pad.

"Alright, I'll get your drinks to you in just a little bit!" She winked, rushing off to go help another customer.

Ian shoved away Kasey's hand and glared at him. "Why?"

"Well, you just seem like a scotch person to me. And the ice will water it down a bit, so you won't get hit as hard."

"That's not what I meant, Kasey."

"We're supposed to be celebrating, remember? We're a group of young men and women striking out on their own in an unfamiliar land, taking things day-by-day, just trying to find a way to get by."

"You're making this sound a lot more epic than it really is," I tell him bluntly.

"And it's free! Why in the world would you pass that up?"

Ian let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, I get the point."

Satisfied at his victory, Kasey then turned his attention to me. "That reminds me, Lily. I'm kinda surprised you came at all. I was under the impression you hated alcohol, and anything fun for that matter."

I gave him a dirty look as I responded, "I don't hate alcohol, I hate how your drinking always seemed to cause grief for Ian and Ange."

"I can't say I'm proud of it myself," he said, looking surprisingly downtrodden. "But hey, new beginnings, right?"

Kathy showed up with our drinks at that moment. Right as we were raising them to take our first sips, we were surprised by exotic music starting to play and the lights dimming a bit. Both Ian and Kasey perked up at something going on behind us, and Angela and I turned around to see a dark-skinned lady with ruby red hair stepping up onto the stage wearing an outfit that looked like she had stepped out of a story from some far-off land. Her dark purple top was low-cut, hung off her shoulders, and bared her midriff; sexy, but not without class. The pants were a lighter shade made of a lightweight material that billowed and flowed as she moved. In addition to these, golden accessories dangled from her wrists, her neck, her clothing, and her hair. She smiled as everyone in the bar turned toward her, and then, she started to dance.

Her dance was like nothing I'd seen before: a fluid movement of legs, hips, arms, and torso. There was so much going on at once, it was a little hard to focus on what one part of her was doing without something else catching your eye. Eventually, the routine ended, and the audience broke into applause while the dancer took a bow and stepped down.

"Well, that was...different," Ian said as everyone went back to what they were doing.

"Yeah," Angela agreed, looking mystified.

"You know what I just thought of?" Kasey asked us. "What good is a celebration without a toast?" He picked up his bottle and held it in the air in front of him. After we moved to match him, he spoke, "To new beginnings."

As our glassware met in the middle of the table with a small clink; Ian, Angela, and I echoed his words.

"To new beginnings."


	7. Courage

A few days later, the four of us were wandering around town, trying to find some source of income to keep us alive. We didn't know if there were any jobs open, but it wasn't doing us any good to just stay home and use up the rest of what little supplies we had left.

The welcome-to-the-island gift provided by our Flute Fields neighbors arrived at our doorstep the morning after we visited the Brass Bar. Among other things, the package contained fresh produce from Marimba Farm and dairy from Horn Ranch. They'd clearly put a lot of effort into putting this together, and in return, we sent a letter of gratitude. As nice as the gift was though, we couldn't rely on the kindness of the other islanders forever. It was imperative that we start providing for ourselves.

"There is no way I'm working in the fishery," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest. "I am not working in a room with dead fish everywhere." I shuddered at just the thought.

"That's okay," Angela reassured. "Someone around here _must_ need some part-time help." She started looking around, and I noticed her eyes settled on a building at the town's top level. It didn't have any real defining features except for a domed structure at the back. I remembered that nobody had responded to our knocking when we were first here, and she was probably wondering if they might reply today. "Ian," She suddenly turned to my brother, who peered up from looking at the map. "do you know what that building is?"

Quickly glancing back at the paper, he replied shortly after. "The map just has a picture of a star, so I'm guessing it's an observatory or something."

She twisted the hem of her shirt around, still staring at the building. "Let's go and see if anybody is home," she said. We all followed her up the stairs to the door. She knocked three times, and we all stood in silence as we waited for someone to answer. Of course, we were met with no response once again. Instead of turning in defeat like I expected her to do, Angela grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. Slowly, Angela pushed the door in, and we all crowded behind her to get a peek at the inside. The first thing that caught our eye was the large blue orb sitting on a small table in the middle of the room. There were dream catchers suspended from the ceiling, and tons of book littered around. The strong scent of coffee filled my senses, which meant someone must have been in here earlier.

Angela tensed up. "It's kinda creepy in here." She whispered.

"Eh, it's not that bad." Kasey said, placing one foot inside the empty house.

As soon as his boot touched the hardwood floors inside, the ball on the table lit up instantly. A strange azure fog began to pour out of it, covering the floor like a rug. "Close it, close it now!" I screamed. Ian and Angela took a giant step back as Kasey and I fumbled to get the door shut. When it closed, some of the blue mist escaped and swirled around us before disappearing all together. The sudden rush of adrenaline began to wear off, leaving me feeling like I had just missed death by an inch. When I looked to my side, I saw Angela looking as pale as a ghost.

You see, Angela is a very...fragile girl. Even though she was born into a rough lifestyle, she's always been easily frightened. She's gotten better about it in the last few years, but there are still a few things that can send her running home. Kasey likes to torment her with some of these from time to time, but he claims it's all in good fun.

"Angela, are you shaking?" Her brother questioned, poking her in the side. She jumped back and batted his finger away, trying her best to glare at him. "It was just...weird...fog." He cleared his throat. "We're not mutating or melting into a puddle so I don't think it was anything harmful."

"But, still, that's not something that happens everyday!" She protested, walking ahead down the stairs. "What if we were around it longer and...we just turned a different color or something!?" As we walked, she started listing a number of other less-than-likely possibilities. "How would you feel if a third arm grew from your ankle! That could have happened!"

At this point, she was so caught up in her ranting that she nearly smacked into the front door of our house. The sun was setting, so I guess it was time to turn in for the day, even if we didn't really do a very thorough job search. There was always tomorrow, I guess.

When we were all inside, Angela immediately went into the bathroom. When she came back out a few minutes later, she had a strange look on her face like she was thinking really hard about something. After a few minutes of this, Kasey started teasing her about what happened earlier to try snapping her out of it. After failing to get a reaction, he just turned away and started reading the book Ian and Angela had gotten from the fishery.

"Do you think ghosts are real?" Angela asked as we were all getting ready for bed.

I looked over at her before slipping into my pajamas. "You're not still caught up with the whole weird fog thing are you?"

"No!...Kinda. Just answer my question." She sighed.

"Then my answer is no, I don't." I replied honestly. "I think some people just feel the need to make a big scene over the sound of a house settling or whatever."

She sat on the edge of the bed, biting her bottom lip. "True, but there are some things you just can't blame on a house settling. Like..."

"Blue fog?"

"Yeah..."

I sat beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ange, I know that this is bothering you, but you might be thinking about this too hard."

Angela sighed again. "You're probably right. I tend to do that a lot."

* * *

Later that night, I was woken up by some kind of noise. Once my eyes were able to focus, I saw Angela heading for the door. She still had her nightgown on, but she wore a dark jacket over it with the hood pulled up to cover her head.

"Ange," I called to her quietly. "Where are you going?"

"I want to go back to that house," she whispered.

"Why?"

"I just do."

"Is this because Kasey was teasing you?" I asked. "Or our conversation earlier?"

She paused for a second before answering, "Not completely. Ever since we started on this 'New beginnings' thing, I've been making some goals for myself. And one of those goals was to be braver. Not just for myself, but so I won't be trouble for you guys."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if this is going to work, I can't be afraid to stand on my own two feet."

"And this is how you're going to do that?"

"It's a start."

"Ange-" I started.

"Hey!" We both jumped at the sound of Kasey's voice. "If she's set on doing this, it's not really your place to talk her out of it. But if you want to try, would you take it outside? Some of us are trying to sleep."

I glared down at his form in the darkness, and when I looked back up, Angela was already closing the door behind her. The refreshing night air felt nice, but a chill went down the young girl's spine. She zipped the jacket all the way up to the bottom of her neck and ventured forward.

Castanet looked so different at night. At least to her, it did. The trees seemed to lean more towards the dirt path, as if they were watching whoever dared to walk on their land this late at night. The usual gentle babble of the brooks seemed a lot louder and more intimidating. The hum of insects all around her made her quicken her pace. This place was definitely different at night.

When she reached town, the main sounds she heard were from the bar, still open with a few loud, drunk customers mingling. Angela could hear that foreign music starting up again as she climbed upwards to reach the white building. Taking in a deep breath, she placed a shaky hand on the door knob. "You can do this, Ange," She muttered to herself, slowly turning the knob until the faint click replied. She pushed the door in slowly, careful to not let it make a sound as she did so. Angela peeked around the frame to see that the table from earlier was missing the crystal ball. That either meant someone had moved it within the past few hours or it disappeared. She prayed it was the first option.

Angela took an experimental step inside, placing her foot in the exact spot Kasey had. No fog. No threat.

"So far so good..."

She walked in completely this time, closing the door behind her. When it clicked, she took notice of the light coming from the ceiling a few feet away. The large dome shape they had seen from outside had a huge opening with an equally huge telescope pointing to the night sky. Had that always been open?

The light flicked on, momentarily blinding Angela. She yelped slightly, using the hood to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness. "Ah, I apologize. They are a little too bright." The room dimmed a little, and she finally looked over at whoever just spoke.

A dark-toned man was sitting directly in front of the telescope, one of his hands holding a knob that adjusted the lights. He had platinum-colored hair that extended down into a braid a little past his shoulders, and there was a strange mark painted under his right eye.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know anybody lived here." Angela stuttered, bowing a little in his direction.

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "It's quite alright. It's rare I get visitors nowadays that aren't just here to get their fortunes told." He stood up from his chair and pressed another button right next to the lights. The telescope retracted and the gap in the ceiling slid closed. Angela watched in awe as it did so. "To whom do I owe the honor?" The stargazer asked.

"I'm Angela Williams. I just moved here with my friends and brother to that abandoned farm." She said automatically, those words the first thing she said when asked who she was.

He was right in front of her now, and she took notice that he had different colored eyes. His right eye was yellow and his other was green. "It's nice to meet you, Angela. Many call me Wizard, so you are welcome to do so as well."

"Wizard? Is that your real name?"

He passed Angela, over to a desk with various papers and constellation maps. He pressed a few buttons on an old fashion coffee maker and slid a mug under the vent. "No, but it's not really important."

"Okay, then do you mind if I ask another thing?" Wizard nodded in reply, pulling out a chair for her to sit at the small table in the middle. He offered her some coffee once it was prepared, but she turned him down. "My friends and I were here a couple times, but there was never anyone home."

"I tend to explore the Fugue Forest during the day." He replied bluntly, taking a intake of his drink. "I also visit an...old friend from time to time while I'm there. Funny how during the few times I leave my home, I get visitors."

Angela blushed a little. "Sorry."

He waved a hand at her, dissmissing her apology. "I'm a little at fault, really. I should have greeted our newest islanders when I had the chance."

She opened her mouth to reply, but there were a few hurried knocks on the door. "Ange? Angela, are you there?"

Angela quickly got to her feet, looking to the Wizard and back at the door. "That's my friend Lily. She probably got worried." She explained the whole crystal ball scenario to him, and he chuckled.

"It really doesn't do anything, it's just a little something I have it set to do to scare away anyone who tries to enter while I'm not here." He must have noticed her eyes go wide, because he went over to a small chest and opened it. He pulled the orb out, and it began to shine in his hands. When he handed it over to Angela, the light dimmed to a darker, more intimidating shade and the fog began to pour out once more. "It's harmless really, but anyone who tried to break in wouldn't know that," he said as she placed the ball on the table.

"That ghost probably got her." Kasey's voice joked from outside the door. Did everyone come to find her?

"Shut up Kasey."

"You're grumpy at three in the morning, Lils."

"I should probably go before Lily kills my brother." Angela chuckled nervously. She held her hand out, and Wizard shook it firmly. "It was nice to finally meet you, Wizard."

He smiled softly. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well." He walked back up the stairs to the telescope and turned the lights all the way off.

I was just about to punch Kasey for being annoying, as usual, when the door finally opened. Angela stood there with her hands casually tucked into the pockets of her jacket. She had a smile on her face as she walked out, closing the door behind her. "'Sup guys," she said, walking past us while lifting her arms above her head. "Man, I'm beat. Let's go home and sleep now."

"What...but the...and you're," I stammered. A hand rested on my shoulder, and I looked over to see Kasey. I sighed and shrugged his hand off. "I need more sleep."


End file.
